A father who previously accused Ezra Miller of grooming his child is explaining why he "withdrew" the complaint he and his wife filed in June 2022.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Aug. 25, attorney and activist Chase Iron Eyes addressed the "drama 3 years ago when I filed a petition and claimed that Ezra appeared to have 'groomed' " his child, Tokata, now 21, beginning at the age of 12.
"I made that statement in my pleading (in a time of absolute war) based on information from a witness who then recanted and said nothing happened that they could infer anything inappropriate from. Thus, I immediately withdrew the court filings," Chase wrote.
Earlier in his post, which Tokata shared to their Instagram Stories, Chase revealed that he supports Hundred in the Hand, a band that Tokata and Miller, now 31, are in together.
"I don’t feel like I owe an explanation but after we hosted a party in Santa Fe we received some feedback," he wrote. "When you live your life under a public (tribal and non tribal) microscope of critique sometimes it seems it’s only the critique that makes its way through."
"Now," Chase continued, "we are doing our level best to move on, to reconcile, to heal while remaining supportive as a father; as long as Tokata’s good we’re good."
"These are real people, living real lives and once you’re in that fire where there is no anonymity, there is no safe space for you to retreat. That’s a strange place and it’s not enviable. It takes a lot to enter the fray again," he concluded.
According to court documents filed on June 7, 2022, in Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Court, Chase and his wife Sara Jumping Eagle claimed Miller had been manipulating and controlling Tokata, who uses she/they pronouns, since the two met at Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota back in 2016.
At the time, the parents claimed Miller groomed their child from the age of 12 after taking "an immediate and apparently innocent liking" to them, adding that Miller exhibited a "pattern of corrupting a minor," allegedly displaying "cult-like and psychologically manipulative, controlling behavior."
Tokata later issued a statement on Instagram, downplaying their parents' concerns and sharing that Miller "has only provided loving support and invaluable protection."
"I am now aware of the severity of emotional and psychological manipulation I was made to endure while in my parents home," read part of the message. "I am an adult and I deserve to feel authority in my own body."
